Friday, October 24, 2008

I discovered today that I made the Sailing Hall of Fame. Well, not exactly.

But I did make the Sailx.com "who is who" page which is only for "people who are important enough". Wow. Apparently I am important "enough". (Sailx is the online multi-player tactical sailing simulator that I wrote about last year when it was known as Tacticat.)

But wait. Am I getting the recognition I deserve? I see that some of the other sailors are described in such terms as "one of the strongest sailors on Sailx", "really top quality sailor", and "top team racer, top match racer, sexy". Whereas my entry just says, "You have to read his blog".

Hmmm. Who writes this crap? Don't they know who I am? How come I'm not described as "sexy"?

Actually Sailx is not as much fun as it used to be. In the old days if two boats collided the program would decide which boat it thought was at fault and impose a penalty. Of course it wasn't perfect but, hey, it's only a game and when did you ever meet a perfect protest committee in real life?

But somebody decided to "improve" the game so, now, if you think that another sailor broke a rule and the game didn't apply the rules correctly you can "protest" him. There's a whole forum for these protests where the sea lawyers spend hours arguing the toss back and forth about whose pixels were in the right and whose pixels were in the wrong. Here's an example of one dude pressing his case in favor of his pixels being right ...

So, you are suggesting that R11 and R17 conflict with R18? I disagree and find the opposing arguments insufficient. Rules 11, 17 and 18.2(a) do not conflict and can be applied simultaneously.

The applicable part of R18 required me to give X room to round the mark. I did so. The requirements of R11 that X keep clear of a leeward boat DO NOT conflict with the requirements of R18 that I give room to round. "Room" and "keeping clear" are two DIFFERENT requirements imposed on two DIFFERENT boats and both can (and must) be simultaneously met without conflict.

Likewise, the proper course required by R17.2 is not in conflict with the requirements of room to round under R18. X's proper course around the mark and his proper course after gybing in no way conflicted with my requirement to give him room to do so. In fact, I did give X room to round the mark and to gybe. Contact only occurred because X was sailing below his proper course (R17.2) and failed to keep clear of a leeward boat (R11).

Oh geeze. It's only a game dude. Chill out.

Another example of how bad it has become... Regular readers of this blog, all three of you, will know that I am quite a vocal sailor in real life. Sometimes I like to sing while sailing. Sometimes I hail a magic spell that makes my competitor capsize. I'm much the same in Sailx. One day I was having a free and frank exchange of views with a fellow sailor during a Sailx race and I accidentally typed "u geard" instead of "you heard". This dude then "protested" me for making a derogatory remark and went on the protest forum to recommend that, among other things, I should be banned from the game. Apparently he thought I had called him a "geard"! In what language is "geard" an insult? What does it mean in any case? What a hoot!

Wait a minute. This "who is who" page is part of a wiki. Hmmm. Let's see. Quick edit. Save. That's better.

It now reads: Tillerman. Handsome, sexy and wicked. Thinks Sailx used to be more fun before the sea lawyers ruined it. You have to read his blog.

Sure. And the new version of the Racing Rules of Sailing gives a shout-out to Proper Course no less than 17 times.

I will try not to let the recognition and fame go to my head even though I am "important enough" in Sailx too. I will remain the humble "Tillerman the Blogger" that I have always been, just like my buddies "Joe the Horse", "Edward the Serious Ocean Going Racer" and "Adam the Messer About".

I have liked some things that seemed innovative and fun when they started and then I lost interest when they became mainstream and popular. Examples? Well, Nike, Starbucks, and Sting come to mind.

I think I'll still like you, though, Tillerman. Especially if you remember us little people and, well, as unpopular as it seems to be to say it right now, share the wealth with us when you hit the big time.

Just a note, in SailX we don't apply Rule 14, so the application of the rules at mark roundings are a bit different. Also, arguing for the likely losing side of a protest sometimes requires some rather convoluted arguments that don't necessarily comport with the conventional wisdom of how the rules apply.

Copyright

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